WEBVTT Kind: captions; Language: en 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:23.000 [...] 00:00:37.001 --> 00:00:40.001 Fabulous Farming is America's biggest industry. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:45.000 While most major American industries have made great advances in productivity, 00:00:45.001 --> 00:00:47.001 agriculture has outpaced them all. 00:00:48.001 --> 00:00:51.000 One of the reasons has been intense mechanization. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.000 Progress in mechanization has been impressive. 00:00:55.001 --> 00:00:58.001 However, some crops must still be harvested by hand. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:03.000 Where such things as inspection, selection, cutting, or gentle 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:04.001 handling are basic to quality. 00:01:05.001 --> 00:01:10.000 Yet even now, practically every hand-picked crop is under intensive study. 00:01:11.001 --> 00:01:15.001 And the constant flow of new and remarkable experimental equipment is on trial, 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:19.001 all designed to relieve man's age-old burden of manual labor. 00:01:20.001 --> 00:01:25.000 But until each piece of equipment can be shown to eliminate hand labor and reduce 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:27.000 cost with no sacrifice in quality. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.001 Until then, much of the work must still be manual. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.001 And the placement of thousands of workers at the right place, at the right time, 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:41.001 is an immense job, especially at harvest time. 00:01:42.001 --> 00:01:46.000 Overall, the job has been successfully carried through, even in the many 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:47.001 crops calling for stoop labor. 00:01:48.001 --> 00:01:51.000 Here is stoop labor in the literal meaning of the term. 00:01:51.001 --> 00:01:55.000 But the term is also applied to many of the toughest and least 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:56.001 desirable farm jobs. 00:01:56.001 --> 00:02:03.000 For example, no stooping here, yet because citrus trees are thorny, more 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.001 difficult to pick than other fruits, most farm workers avoid this kind of job. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.001 All such farm jobs, which are tough, dirty, or unpleasant, are generally 00:02:13.001 --> 00:02:15.000 referred to as stoop labor. 00:02:16.001 --> 00:02:20.001 Understandably, then, this is the only area in which the American farm labor 00:02:20.001 --> 00:02:26.000 supply falls short and is supplemented by Mexican citizens, sometimes called 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.001 nationals or Mexican nationals. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:32.000 But the term most commonly used is braceros. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.001 In Spanish, this means a man who works with his arms and hands. 00:02:37.001 --> 00:02:42.000 It so happens that the braceros form a tiny fraction of the total labor 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:43.001 force used on our farms. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:48.000 Yet some Americans feel even this tiny fraction should not be used. 00:02:48.001 --> 00:02:51.001 A typical dialogue pinpoints the major issues. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:56.001 Well, with Americans on relief rolls, why bring in foreigners 00:02:56.001 --> 00:02:58.000 to work on our farms? 00:02:58.001 --> 00:02:59.000 Makes no sense. 00:02:59.001 --> 00:03:00.001 Makes sense to the farmer, though. 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.000 These braceros work for lower pay than Americans would. 00:03:04.001 --> 00:03:08.000 But doesn't the farmer realize he's cutting down American labor, 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:09.001 cutting down our living states? 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.001 Why doesn't somebody do something about it? 00:03:13.001 --> 00:03:18.001 In short, the big question in many minds is why braceros? 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.000 The question is so widespread that we consider it a public service to tell the 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:27.001 why and how of braceros on American farms. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.001 Many field crops still call for stoop labor, especially at harvest time, when 00:03:34.001 --> 00:03:36.000 demand for labor is at its peak. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:41.001 It isn't easy to find men willing to take on such undesirable kinds of work, so 00:03:41.001 --> 00:03:46.000 the farmer must begin recruiting his seasonal labor force long before his labor 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:47.001 needs reach the critical point. 00:03:48.001 --> 00:03:52.001 Once he's estimated the number of men needed, he goes to two potential sources. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.001 One of them is the Farm Placement Service, a combined federal and state agency 00:03:58.001 --> 00:04:02.001 which links men looking for work and farmers who have work to be done. 00:04:03.001 --> 00:04:08.000 Here, weeks before the season, the grower registers the jobs he has to offer, the 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.000 types of work, the specific crops, the pay rates, and so on. 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:17.000 This agency does an excellent recruiting job, but the farmer knows from long 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:21.001 experience that workers able and willing to do this stoop labor are 00:04:21.001 --> 00:04:23.000 always in short supply. 00:04:25.001 --> 00:04:30.001 So he goes to a second source, a private labor recruiting association, the 00:04:30.001 --> 00:04:34.000 farmer's organized effort to recruit a labor force of their own. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.001 Again, weeks in advance, he notifies the association of his needs. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:45.000 The farmer knows that if the domestic supply is, as usual, short, the association 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:50.000 can, if authorized, we repeat, if authorized, supply 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:52.000 braceros to compensate for the shortage. 00:04:54.001 --> 00:04:56.000 Why is this so critical? 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.001 If labor is not on hand when the crop is ready, the crop 00:05:00.001 --> 00:05:02.001 and the farmer's investment is lost. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:09.000 Which is why days before his harvest date, he revisits the farm placement service 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:12.000 to see whether enough seasonal domestic labor is available 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:13.001 to meet his specified needs. 00:05:14.001 --> 00:05:19.001 Even if this agency doesn't have enough, the farmer is not authorized to import 00:05:19.001 --> 00:05:24.000 braceros until he proves to the official satisfaction that the farmer's own 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.000 recruiting service has utilized all the seasonal domestic labor available. 00:05:28.001 --> 00:05:32.001 What's more, federal law says that the farmer can bring in only the number of 00:05:32.001 --> 00:05:36.001 braceros required to fill the gap between the available domestic supply 00:05:36.001 --> 00:05:38.001 and the total number needed. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:46.000 For a better understanding, why not interview the agent himself? 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:52.000 Would you mind answering a few questions for us, sir? 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:54.001 Yes, I'd be glad to answer them. 00:05:55.001 --> 00:05:59.001 Do you get a great many requests for foreign farm workers, braceros? 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:03.000 I'd have to say no to that question. 00:06:03.001 --> 00:06:07.000 Actually, supplemental workers are a very small part of the 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:08.001 farm labor force in California. 00:06:09.001 --> 00:06:15.000 In fact, not as many are being used now as a few years ago because there are more 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.001 domestic laborers now available for farm work. 00:06:18.001 --> 00:06:23.000 We use every possible recruiting method to ensure an adequate supply of labor, 00:06:23.001 --> 00:06:28.000 including newspaper ads, radio, recruiters, and a key location. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:33.000 I think we do a pretty complete job of recruiting domestic labor and that we 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:34.001 meet most of the farmer's request. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:37.001 Except for stoop labor, you mean? 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:40.000 Well, we even supply a good deal of that. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:45.001 It's only when we can't find enough domestic laborers and the farmer has utilized 00:06:45.001 --> 00:06:49.000 all his sources that we approve the use of nationals. 00:06:50.001 --> 00:06:55.001 And no farmer is authorized to hire braceros unless he agrees to continue every 00:06:55.001 --> 00:06:58.001 effort on his own to recruit and hire domestic workers 00:06:58.001 --> 00:07:00.000 wherever they might be available. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:04.000 He must pay foreign workers at a rate no less than 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:05.001 domestics doing the same kind of work. 00:07:06.001 --> 00:07:11.000 He has to keep us currently advised of the status of any activity in 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:12.001 which he's using foreign workers. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.000 These regulations guarantee the employment rights of domestic workers and 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:23.001 nationals are used only when the domestic labor supply just can't meet the need. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:25.001 Thank you, sir. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:30.001 The farmer now brings his certification for braceros to his 00:07:30.001 --> 00:07:32.001 own labor recruiting association. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:39.001 And as has been seen, this certification for braceros is fully authorized by 00:07:39.001 --> 00:07:41.001 state and federal authorities. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:48.000 All the facts are checked and double checked and only if they meet the preset 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.000 conditions can the order be put through. 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:15.001 Only now can the manager of the farmer's association process through further 00:08:15.001 --> 00:08:19.000 channels the request for the authorized number of braceros. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.000 This involves placing the order with the 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:24.000 proper authorities at the Mexican border. 00:08:27.001 --> 00:08:32.001 The association manager himself can give us interesting details. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:43.000 Excuse me, sir, did you order those nationals just for that particular farmer? 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:47.001 No, that request represented the accumulation of eight orders 00:08:47.001 --> 00:08:49.000 from growers in this area. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:54.000 When we receive a sizable amount of orders, we then call the Elcensor Reception 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:56.001 Center and place our order for foreign workers. 00:08:57.001 --> 00:09:02.001 But how does the reception center at the border get several hundred 00:09:02.001 --> 00:09:04.001 workers ready so fast? 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:11.000 From past experience, we know roughly the number of Mexican nationals that will 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:15.000 be needed to supplement the local labor in this area. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:22.001 We also know the seasonal high demands for this type of labor. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:28.001 So when growers come in from the with authorizations from the California 00:09:28.001 --> 00:09:35.000 Department of Employment certifying that a local labor shortly does exist, and I 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.000 speak now in terms of stoop labor, we then are all geared straight to the goal. 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:44.000 But isn't it through your organization that farmers also try to 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:45.001 recruit domestic farm workers? 00:09:46.001 --> 00:09:47.000 Yes, that's true. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.000 Here is an example of several ads that we have run locally in an 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.001 attempt to attract stoop labor. 00:09:54.001 --> 00:09:59.000 We also have used radio as a means of recruitment in states 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:00.001 such as Texas and Arizona. 00:10:01.001 --> 00:10:07.001 The results of this recruitment effort, as it applies to picking pears, peaches, 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:10.000 and apricots, has been very good. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:15.000 However, as it pertains to stoop labor, the results were practically nil. 00:10:16.001 --> 00:10:19.000 Doesn't the Department of Employment supply a good deal 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:20.001 of the stoop labor required? 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:22.001 Yes, sir. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:29.000 But even with their excellent organization and their experienced personnel, they 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:32.001 are unable to supply us with all the stoop labor that is needed in this area. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:38.000 For example, during the 15-day recruitment effort on part of the California 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:42.000 Department of Employment, we requested these number of workers. 00:10:43.001 --> 00:10:47.000 We had daily transportation available at the farm labor office. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.001 As a matter of fact, we requested over 1,100 workers. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:55.000 The Department of Employment was only able to recruit 725. 00:10:56.001 --> 00:11:01.001 This immediately created a shortage of stoop labor of over 450 workers. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:07.000 And this is where the Mexican National comes in, where the local labor will not. 00:11:07.001 --> 00:11:09.001 Thank you, sir, very much. 00:11:11.001 --> 00:11:16.001 And so in practically all such jobs, the farmer has all the domestics he and the 00:11:16.001 --> 00:11:20.000 recruiting agencies can find, plus braceros to fill the gap. 00:11:20.001 --> 00:11:26.000 The entire crew, domestic or foreign, is paid at exactly the same rate. 00:11:26.001 --> 00:11:31.001 But, and this is very important, even after the braceros are at work in the 00:11:31.001 --> 00:11:34.001 fields, domestic workers still have priority. 00:11:35.001 --> 00:11:37.001 The federal law is specific about this. 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:43.000 Any local who wants to work has transportation already to take him out to the 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:48.000 field, where the farmer must take him on, even if it means pulling out a bracero 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.001 to whom he is already committed by contract. 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:55.001 Yet, even with free transportation provided by the farmers, it is seldom 00:11:55.001 --> 00:11:57.001 that a bracero is made idle. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:02.001 Now, what about the treatment of braceros? 00:12:04.001 --> 00:12:07.000 Are they mishandled or mistreated in any way? 00:12:09.001 --> 00:12:14.001 The gentleman at the center of this scene is Senor Antonio Islas, the Mexican 00:12:14.001 --> 00:12:17.000 council very close to the bracero program. 00:12:17.001 --> 00:12:19.001 Listen to what he has to say on this question. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.000 First of all, let me clarify a point. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:28.001 These men I am speaking to are no wet bags. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.001 The name applies to Mexicans who enter your country illegally. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.001 These men I speak to are known as braceros. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:46.001 They enter your country through a careful, regulated program that works out 00:12:46.001 --> 00:12:48.001 between my government and yours. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.001 Now to your question as to how the braceros are treated. 00:12:54.001 --> 00:13:00.000 The best proof they are well treated is that the Mexican government has allowed 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:07.000 the continued temporary immigration of the workers and that a great number 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:09.001 of them have returned here many times. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:16.001 The international agreement for this program set up the highest possible 00:13:16.001 --> 00:13:23.000 standards for working conditions, living quarters, food, and 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:25.000 welfare for the Mexican worker. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:33.000 This program is without doubt well carried out, taking into consideration the 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.001 number of Mexican temporary workers who come to this country. 00:13:37.001 --> 00:13:44.000 I find that very few misunderstandings arise and very few errors are committed. 00:13:45.001 --> 00:13:49.001 Both Mexico and the United States benefit from this program. 00:13:50.001 --> 00:13:57.000 Mexico assists the American farmer with workers when there is a farm labeled 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:03.000 shortage and the United States provides additional income to the Mexican worker 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:05.000 which improves his economy. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:09.001 As I say, both sides gain. 00:14:10.001 --> 00:14:17.000 In my contacts with the braceros, I can summarize my impression by saying they 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:19.001 are pleased to come to work in the United States. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.001 And what of the money earned by the braceros? 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.000 Is it all, as some people claim, drained out of this country? 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:29.001 Hardly. 00:14:30.001 --> 00:14:32.000 Look at the braceros when they come here. 00:14:35.001 --> 00:14:39.001 It is obvious they need a great many things, like clothes for instance. 00:14:40.001 --> 00:14:41.001 Where do they spend their money? 00:14:42.001 --> 00:14:45.000 As a local merchant put it. 00:14:45.001 --> 00:14:49.000 As a matter of fact, they spend a great deal of their money right here. 00:14:49.001 --> 00:14:54.001 They buy clothing and other domestic items such as transistor radios, luggage, 00:14:55.001 --> 00:14:59.001 home furnishings, items that aren't readily available back home. 00:15:00.001 --> 00:15:03.000 Take a look at the braceros when they come into this 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.000 country and again when they leave. 00:15:05.001 --> 00:15:10.001 They have brand new shirts, pants, shoes, all items bought right here locally. 00:15:11.001 --> 00:15:13.001 Let's look at this in a little different angle. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:20.000 The stoop labor situation being what it is, I don't see how the local farmers can 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:21.001 get along without braceros. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.001 Without this source of labor, many farmers are going to 00:15:25.001 --> 00:15:27.000 be unable to make a profit. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:31.000 And we sure don't want this to happen because the farmer 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:32.001 is still our best customer. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:37.001 Yes, with the domestic supply of farm labor being 00:15:37.001 --> 00:15:40.000 inadequate, braceros are a must. 00:15:40.001 --> 00:15:45.000 But some people say to the farmer, Well, make the pay high enough and you'll pull 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.000 in all the domestic labor you need. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:53.001 The fact is that farm wages have gone up steadily for many years but we still 00:15:53.001 --> 00:15:57.001 don't have enough seasonal domestic labor willing to do this kind of work. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:05.001 Unless we have braceros to fill the gap, many stoop labor crops will be forced 00:16:05.001 --> 00:16:07.000 out of American agriculture. 00:16:07.001 --> 00:16:08.000 The consequences. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.000 Much of our food processing industries output would be replaced by imports. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:21.000 These jobs, now held by Americans, would be taken by workers in other lands and 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:23.001 our plants and equipment would be slowed down or shut down. 00:16:27.001 --> 00:16:30.001 Jobs and investment in the transportation industry would feel the blow. 00:16:30.001 --> 00:16:36.000 Example. In a recent typical year in just one state, the transportation of such 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:42.000 familiar items as lettuce, fresh and processed citrus, asparagus, and tomatoes 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:47.000 totaled over $166.5 million. 00:16:48.001 --> 00:16:53.000 Remove these familiar crops from production and these millions, now going into 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:58.001 transportation, would disappear, hitting both its management and its labor force. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.001 These same crops from the same state in the same typical year 00:17:04.001 --> 00:17:06.000 required many types of containers. 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:08.001 Lids, caps, and labels. 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:12.000 Over $112 million worth. 00:17:13.001 --> 00:17:19.001 Cut out this $112 million worth and what happens to the thousands of people who 00:17:19.001 --> 00:17:22.001 work in or invest in these allied industries. 00:17:24.001 --> 00:17:29.000 And these are just a few of the allied industries whose management, machinery, 00:17:29.001 --> 00:17:33.001 production, and labor force are all geared to the availability of these familiar 00:17:33.001 --> 00:17:37.000 crops, harvested for the most part by braceros. 00:17:38.001 --> 00:17:43.000 If all such crops are driven out of American farming, many jobs 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:44.001 in allied industries would be lost. 00:17:45.001 --> 00:17:48.000 Many segments of our economy would feel the blow. 00:17:48.001 --> 00:17:49.001 The solution to the problem? 00:17:50.001 --> 00:17:55.001 As we said, even now, machines to eliminate stoop labor are in the pilot stage. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:00.000 Until they're ready, los braceros are a necessary 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.000 supplement to our domestic crews. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:07.000 In Spanish, braceros means a man who works with arms and hands. 00:18:07.001 --> 00:18:11.000 But in American lingo, they are called lifesavers. 00:18:11.001 --> 00:18:17.001 And they are, not only to the farmer, but to the housewife, the grocer, the 00:18:17.001 --> 00:18:22.001 transporter, the canner and processor, and to all of the other industries whose 00:18:22.001 --> 00:18:28.000 output and very existence are so closely interlocked and dependent on the 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.000 continued supply of such crops.